About

John Chuo, MD, MSBI, is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics specializing in Neonatology and Newborn Services at the Perelman School of Medicine. He holds a BA in Biological Sciences with honors from Cornell University, an MD from New York University School of Medicine, and an MSBI in Biomedical Informatics from Harvard University in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His clinical expertise focuses on neonatology, and he is actively involved in quality and implementation science, informatics, and telehealth. Dr. Chuo serves as the Neonatal Quality Officer for the CHOP Newborn Care Network and is a Clinical Champion for Digital Health at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He also co-directs the Digital Health Innovation Core at the Center for Phenomics Sciences and co-leads the APA QI Special Interest Group at CHOP. His research includes leveraging digital platforms to monitor clinical practice guideline compliance, improving skin-to-skin care, reducing diaper dermatitis, and developing mobile technology tools to support clinical guideline adherence in NICUs. Dr. Chuo's work emphasizes the integration of digital health solutions to enhance neonatal care quality and safety.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Public relations
• Economic growth
• Medicine
• Nursing

Selected publications

• Enhancing alarm response in the neonatal intensive care unit: A quality improvement initiative

  International Journal of Nursing Studies · 2026-04-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Disclosure of Adverse Events in Pediatrics: Policy Statement

  PEDIATRICS · 2025-03-17 · 5 citations

  articleOpen access

  Disclosure of adverse events has become the expectation in medicine and is widely regarded as the appropriate path when medical errors occur. Although data are limited on adverse events in pediatrics, that they occur frequently is uncontested. Types and rates of errors vary depending on the care setting and patient population. Patients with complex medical conditions or from historically marginalized groups or minoritized communities likely suffer disparate health and safety outcomes. Systemic factors, including nonpunitive safety cultures and supportive environments within institutions, are essential to promoting disclosure. State laws protecting apologies from use in legal proceedings can also help to encourage open communication. Some states have adopted laws to advance disclosure, and governmental agencies provide materials encouraging open communication and early resolution after adverse events occur. Many programs emphasize the importance of supporting health care workers involved in adverse events. Shame, fear of professional and legal repercussions, and lack of training remain barriers to disclosure. Education for health care clinicians, support in health care settings, additional research on programs and disparities, and governmental and regulatory initiatives can support disclosure of adverse events.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• An Environmental Scan of Interventions Implemented by Pediatric Health Organizations to Improve Telehealth Equity

  Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · 2025-12-03

  article

  BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Telehealth can improve pediatric access to care; however, substantial telehealth disparities continue to persist. Publications describing the implementation of innovative strategies to improve telehealth equity across pediatric health care organizations are limited. We aimed to describe the degree of implementation of telehealth equity interventions, identify facilitators and barriers to their implementation, and develop a quality improvement framework for future implementation efforts. METHODS: We conducted a national survey within the American Academy of Pediatrics' Supporting Pediatric Research on Outcomes and Utilization of Telehealth network from October to December 2023 to obtain an environmental scan of telehealth equity interventions adopted by pediatric health organizations since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used descriptive statistics to quantify intervention implementation and employed qualitative template analysis of open-ended responses to design a key driver diagram blueprint to advance pediatric telehealth equity. RESULTS: Of 134 organizations, members from 13 organizations completed the survey, mostly representing large, urban, academic children's hospitals. The most commonly implemented interventions included providing devices or internet access within health care facilities, offering on-demand help desk support, and integrating interpreter services within telehealth visit platforms. In contrast, less commonly implemented interventions included expanding broadband access in community settings, soliciting family visit preferences for telehealth versus in-person visits, and ensuring patient privacy during telehealth encounters. CONCLUSIONS: This study describes the degree of implementation of telehealth equity interventions among well-resourced pediatric health organizations. Our quality improvement framework provides a foundation for future multicenter, collaborative initiatives aimed at reducing telehealth disparities in pediatric populations.

  PublisherDOI

• A Remote Patient Management Care Model for Pediatric Home Care Ventilator Patients Conserves Resources: A Quality Improvement Initiative

  The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety · 2025-06-20

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's Home Care respiratory therapy patient population becomes more acute and resource-intense each year. The organization's trach/vent patients have numerous clinical and equipment needs requiring complex home respiratory management. To conserve respiratory therapy resources, a remote patient management (RPM) program was integrated into the current respiratory services care model by introducing innovative technology to monitor patient data remotely. The authors expected this to reduce the number of home visits defined in the established program while maintaining safe, high-quality care. The goal was a reduction of 20%. METHODS: Biweekly, respiratory therapists (RTs) reviewed electronic health records and equipment downloads for specific patients and contacted them to assess their clinical status. RTs documented findings, planned interventions, communicated with interdisciplinary teams, and determined follow-up. Home and video contacts remained options for concerns. At minimum, RTs assessed patients in homes every three months. Chart reviews and safety rounds supported quality assessment. RESULTS: Results revealed a 38.7% reduction in home visits compared to the prior year and 59.6% reduction in home visits from pre-COVID-19 baseline data, with several instances of special cause variation observed on statistical process control analysis (p < 0.05). The authors found a 21.01% reduction in on-call volume for ventilator-related issues (p = 0.2) and a 5.8% increase in patient's status changing to lower acuity (p = 0.2); neither was statistically significant due to low sample size. Results showed time and mileage savings, improved communication with interdisciplinary teams and families, improved RT quality of life, active ventilator weaning for relevant patients, and potential prevention of hospital admissions. CONCLUSION: The program delivered innovation to an established care model, providing resource conservation, financial savings, and patient and staff satisfaction, and exceeded its goal.

  PublisherDOI

• Narrowing the Digital Divide: Framework for Creating Telehealth Equity Dashboards (Preprint)

  2024-02-27

  preprintOpen access

  <sec> <title>UNSTRUCTURED</title> Telehealth presents both the potential to improve access to care and to widen the digital divide contributing to health care disparities and obliging health care systems to standardize approaches to measure and display telehealth disparities. Based on a literature review and the operational experience of clinicians, informaticists, and researchers in the Supporting Pediatric Research on Outcomes and Utilization of Telehealth (SPROUT)–Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Network, we outline a strategic framework for health systems to develop and optimally use a telehealth equity dashboard through a 3-phased approach of (1) defining data sources and key equity-related metrics of interest; (2) designing a dynamic and user-friendly dashboard; and (3) deploying the dashboard to maximize engagement among clinical staff, investigators, and administrators. </sec>

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Narrowing the Digital Divide: Framework for Creating Telehealth Equity Dashboards

  Interactive Journal of Medical Research · 2024-07-17 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access

  Telehealth presents both the potential to improve access to care and to widen the digital divide contributing to health care disparities and obliging health care systems to standardize approaches to measure and display telehealth disparities. Based on a literature review and the operational experience of clinicians, informaticists, and researchers in the Supporting Pediatric Research on Outcomes and Utilization of Telehealth (SPROUT)-Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Network, we outline a strategic framework for health systems to develop and optimally use a telehealth equity dashboard through a 3-phased approach of (1) defining data sources and key equity-related metrics of interest; (2) designing a dynamic and user-friendly dashboard; and (3) deploying the dashboard to maximize engagement among clinical staff, investigators, and administrators.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Identification and Management of Ankyloglossia and Its Effect on Breastfeeding in Infants: Clinical Report

  PEDIATRICS · 2024-07-29 · 29 citations

  articleOpen access

  Ankyloglossia refers to a congenitally tight lingual frenulum that limits the motion of the tongue. Whether the release of a tight lingual frenulum in neonates improves breastfeeding is not clear. Because many of the symptoms of ankyloglossia overlap those of other breastfeeding difficulties, a team partnership is necessary.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Telemedicine and Pediatric Care in Rural and Remote Areas of Middle-and-Low-Income Countries: Narrative Review

  Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health · 2024-03-13 · 27 citations

  reviewOpen access

  OBJECTIVES: Caring for children in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) can be challenging. This review article aims to explore role of telemedicine in supporting pediatric care in LMIC. METHODOLOGY: A narrative review of existing English and Spanish literature was conducted to assess role of telemedicine to support pediatric care in LMIC. RESULTS: Beside medical education and direct pediatric care, telemedicine can provide sub-specialties consultations without extra burden on families. Additionally, telemedicine can help in lowering under-5 mortality by supporting neonatal care, infectious illnesses, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Telemedicine can be a gate for universal coverage for all children at a lower cost. For over a decade, it has been implemented successfully and sustained in a few LMIC. However, challenges in implementing telemedicine are enormous. Still, opportunities arise by using simpler technology, low-width band internet, smartphones, instant messaging applications and solar energy. COVID-19 pandemic facilitated acceptance and applicability of telemedicine worldwide including LMIC. Nevertheless, governments must regulate telemedicine by issuing policies and ensuring employment of local experts when possible to meet local resources and cultural competency. CONCLUSION: Telemedicine has proven successful in improving pediatrics care. Many LMIC should take advantage of this innovation to promote equity and access to high quality pediatric care.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Translating Value Across Telehealth Stakeholders: A Rapid Review of Telehealth Measurement Evidence and a New Policy Framework to Guide Telehealth Researchers

  Telemedicine Journal and e-Health · 2024-04-02

  reviewOpen access

  Introduction: The surge in virtual care during the pandemic was accompanied by an increase in telehealth data of interest to policy stakeholders and other health care decision makers. However, these data often require substantial preprocessing and targeted analyses to be usable. By deliberately evaluating telehealth services with stakeholder perspectives in mind, telehealth researchers can more effectively inform clinical and policy decision making. Objective: To examine existing literature on telehealth measurement and evaluation and develop a new policy-oriented framework to guide telehealth researchers. Materials and Methods: A systematic rapid review of literature on telehealth measurement and evaluation was conducted by two independent reviewers in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. The findings were analyzed and applied to the Supporting Pediatric Research on Outcomes and Utilization of Telehealth Evaluation and Measurement (STEM) Framework through the lens of key health care delivery decision makers to create a STEM Policy Framework Results: An initial search yielded 2,324 peer-reviewed articles and gray literatyre from 2012 to 2022, of which 56 met inclusion criteria. These measured and evaluated telehealth access (41.5%), quality (32.1%), cost (15.1%), experience (5.7%), and utilization (5.7%), consistent with the STEM Framework domains, but there was no universal approach. The STEM Policy Framework focuses this literature by describing data measures for each domain from the perspectives of five stakeholders. Conclusions: Literature describing measurement and evaluation approaches for telehealth is limited and not standardized, with few considering policy stakeholder perspectives. With this proposed STEM Policy Framework, we aim to improve this body of literature and support researchers seeking to inform telehealth policy through their work.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Creating a digital approach for promoting physical activity in pediatric pulmonary hypertension: A framework for future interventions

  Pulmonary Circulation · 2024-07-01 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Children with pulmonary hypertension (PH) often demonstrate limited exercise capacity. Data support exercise as an effective nonpharmacologic intervention among adults with PH. However, data on exercise training in children and adolescents are limited, and characteristics of the optimal exercise program in pediatric PH have not been identified. Exercise programs may have multiple targets, including muscle deficits which are associated with exercise limitations in both adult and pediatric PH. Wearable accelerometer sensors measure physical activity volume and intensity in the naturalistic setting and can facilitate near continuous data transfer and bidirectional communication between patients and the study team when paired with informatics tools during exercise interventions. To address the knowledge gaps in exercise training in pediatric PH, we designed a prospective, single arm, nonrandomized pilot study to determine feasibility and preliminary estimates of efficacy of a 16-week home exercise intervention, targeting lower extremity muscle mass and enriched by wearable mobile health technology. The exercIse Training in pulmONary hypertEnsion (iTONE) trial includes (1) semistructured exercise prescriptions tailored to the participant's baseline level of activity and access to resources; (2) interval goal setting fostering self-efficacy; (3) real time monitoring of activity via wearable devices; (4) a digital platform enabling communication and feedback between participant and study team; (5) multiple avenues to assess participant safety. This pilot intervention will provide information on the digital infrastructure needed to conduct home-based exercise interventions in PH and will generate important preliminary data on the effect of exercise interventions in youth with chronic cardiorespiratory conditions to power larger studies in the future.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• SPROUT-CTSA Collaborative Telehealth Research Network

  NIH · $3.6M · 2019–2025

Frequent coauthors

• Christina A. Olson

  Children's Hospital Colorado

  52 shared

• Stephanie Grayson

  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  29 shared

• Kristin McKenna

  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

  26 shared

• Jean Marie Carroll

  Creative Commons

  26 shared

• Jeanette Koran

  Nemours Children's Health System

  25 shared

• Anthony Piazza

  Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

  24 shared

• Theresa R. Grover

  ILC Dover (United States)

  22 shared

• Jeanne Zenge

  Children's Hospital Colorado

  22 shared

Education

• Masters, Computer Science

  Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• Masters, Computer Science - HST

  Harvard University

• MD, Medical School

  New York University

Awards & honors

• Top Poster Award : Improving Skin-to-Skin Care Across a 15-N…